


No Closet Door

by flitterflutterfly



Category: Die Hard (Movies)
Genre: M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 01:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The newest member of the New York PD has some misconceptions and the department sets him straight. Or rather, gay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Closet Door

Thom Baxter had known, on some level, what he was getting into when he made the decision to join the police force. He’d been out of the closest since he was a teenager, after all, but that didn’t make his desire to help the people any less.

It wasn’t like he’d joined the military.

Except in some ways, it was worse. Because in the military they didn’t ask, or at least they weren’t supposed to. Here, his perps spat in his face, told him they’d never answer the questions of a faggot cop. Here, his own partner was late on the back-up because of some pre-civilized idea of homosexuality.

Thom was still nursing a bullet wound in his arm when he found the order to be transferred to the central New York police department some ten years since he’d graduated from the Academy and four transfers later.

He couldn’t say that he was surprised.

-d-i-e-h-a-r-d-

“I’m Inspector Walter Cobb, head of the department here,” the older man held out a hand, which Thom shook easily.

“Nice to meet you, Inspector,” Thom said.

“I wanted to welcome you to-” the inspector stopped suddenly as he looked at something behind Thom’s shoulder. “McClane? What the hell happened?”

“Perp got a bit panicked,” a voice said.

Thom turned to look at the new detective. His clothes were matted with blood, apparently coming from a deep cut on his arm.

“Why the hell aren’t you at the hospital? Or at least the nurses’ station downstairs?” Cobb asked crossly.

“It’s just a scratch!” McClane protested. “Sheesh, Walter, you sound like-”

“So help me if you were about to say that I sounded like your fiancée…” Cobb warned.

Finacée? Surely McClane was too old to not yet be married. Thom frowned at himself for that thought, who was he to judge on relationships? Maybe his wife had died and McClane had fallen for her sister, or maybe the new girl was some illegal immigrant barely legal… regardless, it was none of Thom’s business.

McClane grinned slightly and then transferred his gaze to Thom. “You the new transfer?”

“Thom Baxter,” Thom said.

John McClane, Thom thought as he remembered from the news reports on the fire sale that had wrecked the country years ago and the man who’d help stop it. Tough bastard, the kind he’d always associated with the biggest and badest bigotry.

Except, McClane only gave him a cursory glance and a “Welcome to NYPD,” before turning back to his own work.

Thom frowned and turned back to Inspector Cobb. Usually his reputation preceded him. It seemed that in this department it hadn’t.

-d-i-e-h-a-r-d-

It was almost like heaven, Thom thought. No one avoided him, his partner, Lambert, and him got along well, and he’d had no trouble solving the four cases he’d been given since coming into the department.

Two months in and he was floating on clouds. Some part of him was still waiting for the shoe to drop. He knew, he just knew that the department didn’t know that he was gay. Somehow no one had told them. That was all that was saving him now, but it would come out eventually.

It always did.

He figured he’d have it happen on his terms. Approaching Connie as she was getting ready to leave work, he cleared his throat.

“Yes, Sergeant?” Connie asked. She was a small thing, but Thom had come to respect the fiery detective.

“I wanted to ask you,” Thom took a deep breath. “What this department’s view on types of relationships…”

“I hope you’re not hitting on me, Baxter,” Connie scowled at him. She flashed her ring finger to show off the simple band there.

“No, uh,” Thom blushed. “I was wondering more about, well alternative relationships…”

“What, queers?” Connie shook her head.

Thom grimaced at the word. Before he could say anything though, Connie’s phone rang. “Sorry, Sergeant, I need to answer this.”

“Of course, I’ll just-” Thom escaped quickly.

-d-i-e-h-a-r-d-

There was a kid at McClane’s desk. One that Thom recognized well. Matt Farrell, a semi-regular visitor of the gay-supportive chat sites for the city, an occasional partaker in some of the clubs, and one of Thom’s previous relationships. Thom hadn’t heard a word from him in a while and there had been whispers that he’d finally settled down, and what a shame that was.

What was Matt doing at the PD?

“Hey,” Thom turned to see Walsh glaring at him.

“Yes, sir?” Thom asked, blinking.

“You got a problem with McClane’s fiancé?” Walsh nearly snarled.

The first thing that came to Thom’s mind was, ‘McClane is gay?’ and then ‘fiancé?’ “No problem, sir,” Thom said while he mind was still racing. “I, um, I just know Matt is all.”

“Know him?” Walsh gave him a strange look. “Well, don’t give those two any shit, detective, I’m afraid this precedent is a bit protective of our local heroes.” He breathed in deep.

“No, no, I won’t,” Thom blinked. Why would he…

“After what you said to Connie, well just know that this department doesn’t tolerate bigotry, you got that Detective?” Walsh crossed his arms.

“Connie, no, um it’s not what you- Matt’s an old, uh boyfriend, actually,” Thom said, scratching the back of his neck. Actually, more like a fling, but Thom wasn’t going to say that aloud. Then, “Detective?”

Walsh’ eyes widened. “Ah, might have jumped the gun a bit on that one,” he said almost sheepishly. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you, sir,”  Thom said, his vision swimming. Detective? He’d, he’d really made it to-

“Call me by my name, Christ, you’re no rookie,” Walsh rolled his eyes. He turned to the couple, who was now approaching near Thom’s desk. “Yo, Farrell, you know this chap, right?”

Matt turned to him and his face lit into a wide grin. “Thom!”

Thom accepted the hug with the sort of reverence he usually gave any sort of physical contact with the reclusive hacker. “Hey, Matt.”

McClane was glaring at him now. “Baxter.”

“McClane,” Thom nodded. He turned his eyes to Matt. “When I heard you’d gone steady, I was surprised, but of course only you would be able to handle a man like John McClane, huh?”

There, Thom thought, I’m acknowledging your relationship. Don’t kill me over misplaced jealousy. Whatever Matt and I had was long over before you ever even came into his life.

Matt blushed hot red and Thom felt a lower stirring in his gut at the sight. “Yeah,” he said, turning back to his… fiancé.

McClane wrapped a hand around Matt’s waist. “How, again, do you two know each other?”

“You said you wouldn’t kill any of my exes, John,” Matt said as if that had been a previous argument.

Thom thought he had the right to pale and he raised his hands to placate the glaring detective. “Matt’s quite the handful, but I’m thinking you probably take care of him.” If there was a bit of threat in his tone, well Matt was sometimes the angel among the community in New York, for all that he was often reclusive.

McClane’s glare softened just slightly. “Come on, Mattie, we’ll miss our reservation.”

Matt smiled once more at Thom and let himself be ushered out. When Thom turned to look at the rest of the PD, they weren’t giving him anything but content, somewhat amused looks.

-d-i-e-h-a-r-d-

Several months after clearing up the department mix-up and finding out the real identity of John’s engagement, and Matt’s boyfriend, Thom was going through his mail on the kitchen counter.

“Bill, bill,” he murmured as he threw those aside to deal with later. There was a letter from his old high school penpal. Unlike many, they’d never stopped the occasional note to each other.

And then a small envelope at the bottom of the pile caught his eye. Thom picked it up, using a pocket knife to tear off the top. Out feel a white card.

_Save the Date:_

_John McClane and Matthew Farrell_

_July 4 th, 2012_

The anniversary of their meeting, huh? Thom thought as he thumbed the happy picture of the two of them. He didn’t think he’d ever seen McClane look as relaxed as he did holding Matt, nor Matt as happy.

He leaned back against the counter and stared at the ceiling. Ten years of hell had gotten him here, a job that he enjoyed and one that he was good at, one that he’d done well without support and excelled at with. Ten years, and he was in a PD where the gay detective was protected, not bullied, and everyone would be at that wedding with grins and manly back-pats.

In the long run, ten years had been nothing compared to what he hoped the future would bring.

Thom smiled.


End file.
